Newsletter

Commissioners vote save $1 million

The Bryan County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve resolutions that will save taxpayers in the county approximately $1 million over the next 15 years during their regularly scheduled meeting Aug. 13.

The resolutions approved the refinancing of outstanding Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) loans through Ameris Bank at a reduced interest rate, as well the refinancing of the DEFACS building in Pemborke, also through Ameris Bank.

“This is a financing package that is not going to help us next year; it is going to help us over the long term. We are refinancing water and sewer debt and over this 15-year period we are going to save the taxpayers $1 million that would have had to come out of some budget somewhere — mainly water and sewer,” Jimmy Burnsed, commission chairman said.

“Ameris Bank has agreed to finance all of this and they have agreed to pay the fees for the financing, those fees could have been substantial for the county. It is usually 1 percent; they are eating those fees I’d guess you’d want to say.”

The refinancing package provides for the issuance of three series of bonds that will essentially replace the GEFA loans and also provide the county an additional $370,000 for improvements in the water and sewer and system John Panell of Ameris Bank said.

The $370,000 is money that was not drawn out of the last GEFA loan and is earmarked for land application design and wastewater treatment plant design according to County Administrator Ray.

“I think this bodes well for us and is good fiscal responsibility on the part of the commissioners to look at that. I think John (Grotheer, finance director) is to be congratulated, he is the one who suggested it in the first place because these rates are historically low still but they aren’t going to stay that way, they are going to be going up,” said Burnsed.

“We are just glad we got it done and we are going to save some money and we have put it to bed for a long time,” he added.

ATLANTIC WASTE’S MOTION DENIED

In other commission business, County Attorney John Harvey announced that the Supreme Court of Georgia had denied motions for reconsideration filed by Atlantic Waste Services in regard to Atlantic’s suit against the county filed after the county declined to change ordinances that prevented Atlantic Waste from building a solid waste treatment plant off Olive Branch Church road.

Harvey added that all members of the court concurred and that action essentially leaves Atlantic with no options available to continue their push for constructing the facility.